Tech scores its biggest baseball win ever over Georgia

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATHENS -- Georgia and Georgia Tech have been playing each other in baseball since 1898, and never have the Yellow Jackets beaten the Bulldogs worse than they did Wednesday night.

Tech routed Georgia 25-6 at Foley Field, unmercifully pounding a parade of 10 Bulldogs pitchers.

In 348 previous games between the arch-rivals, Tech's largest margin of victory was 17 runs -- 21-4 in 1998 in Atlanta.

The only larger victory by either side in series history than Wednesday's 19-run margin came in 1899, when Georgia won 25-1.

About the only suspense in Wednesday's game, which Tech led 13-4 by the middle of the fourth inning, was how deeply the outcome would cut into the record book.

Very deeply.

Tech's 25-run barrage matched the record for most runs scored by either side in a game in series history and broke the record for most earned runs scored against Georgia by any opponent. Tech's 25 hits also were the most ever against Georgia by any opponent.

The final score was the result of the volatile combination of Tech's offensive firepower and Georgia's inept pitching. Tech entered the game with a .334 team batting average and Georgia with an 8.02 staff earned run average. Both numbers went up over the course of the night.

The win was the Jackets' second of the season over Georgia, this one much more convincing than a 6-5 victory at Tech last month. The teams will meet again April 27 at Turner Field.

For the season, Tech is 28-5 and Georgia 11-22.

Tech, with eight .300-plus hitters in its lineup, scored double-digit runs Wednesday for the 16th time this season and 20-plus runs for the fourth time.   It was, however, the first time this season the Jackets reached 25 runs.

Jeff Rowland and Tony Plagman each went 4-for-5 for the Jackets, who got hits from 14 different players and home runs from Plagman, Connor Winn, Jeff Ussery and Matt Skole. Twelve of Tech's 25 hits were for extra bases.

Skole's homer was a grand slam in the sixth inning off Ben Cornwell, the seventh Georgia pitcher, that put Tech ahead 19-5.

Georgia pitchers walked a whopping 14 batters, including 12 through five innings. At that point, Tech had the same number of walks  as  hits -- and led 15-5.

A two-run first inning and a four-run third staked the Jackets to a 6-0 lead, which Georgia briefly narrowed to 6-4 on a two-run double by freshman Kyle Farmer and a two-run homer by Zach Cone in the bottom of the third.

But in the fourth inning, Tech blew the game open with a seven-run rally. The inning's final four runs scored on three consecutive bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch.

It was just a matter of how big the numbers would grow after that.

Tech completed the onslaught with a six-run  eruption in the eighth inning.

Georgia used 10 pitchers, six of whom worked less than an inning and none more than two innings. Starter Eric Swegman absorbed the loss.

Tech starter Mark Pope, who allowed 10 hits and five runs (four earned) in six innings, got the win, his fifth in five decisions this season.

Tech returns home for an ACC series against No. 16 Clemson this weekend, while Georgia goes to No. 8 Arkansas for an SEC series.